Displaying items by tag: Boko Haram
Nigeria: Boko Haram kills CAN chairman
Outrage trailed the murder of the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Rev. Lawan Andimi after Boko Haram insurgents who kidnapped him rejected a N50 million ransom.
The state CAN chairman, Bishop Dami Mamza, who broke the sad news to some journalists in Yola, said that the insurgents had demanded two million euros (about N50 million) and still went ahead to kill the innocent cleric.
Bishop Mamza, who said that the killing was communicated to them through their contact, added that another pastor was abducted and killed almost at the same time with the kidnapped and murdered cleric from Michika.
Mamza said that Boko Haram had not been defeated or suppressed, asking the government to tell Nigerians the truth.
“Negotiations were still ongoing when they stopped calling. They were offered N50 million but they rejected it. They called his wife last week, informing her that they would be beheading him (Andimi) on Saturday, but somehow, they waited till Monday.”
The state CAN chairman lamented the constant attacks on Christians in the country, citing the killing of Pastor Dennis Bagauri of the Lutheran Church in Mayo-Belwa area by suspected kidnappers on Sunday.
President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the killing of Andimi, describing it as cruel, inhuman and deliberately provocative. In his reaction to the incident, President Buhari expressed sorrow that the terrorists went on to kill the religious leader while giving signals at the same time of a willingness to set him free by releasing him to third parties.
Buhari consoled with the Christian community all over Nigeria, the government and people of Adamawa State and the bishop’s family over the sad loss of the cleric. He promised that terrorists would continue to pay a heavy price for their actions and would comprehensively be defeated by the armed forces.
The president urged nations of the world to end all support provided to Boko Haram and Islam in West Africa (ISWA) terrorist groups whose only goal is to sow death, violence, and destruction in the sub-region.
Andimi, who was declared missing on January 2, 2020, had in a video published on January 5, confirmed that he was in the custody of Boko Haram. He had pleaded with the Adamawa State Government and the CAN leadership to come to his rescue, adding that his captors did not maltreat him, as they were taking good care of him. The cleric, who spoke in Hausa and English intermittently, urged his family not to be afraid, adding that he would return home safely if it was the will of God.
He said: “I have never been discouraged because everything is in the hands of God. God who made them to take care of me and leave me alive will touch them. So, I am appealing to fellow reverends particularly my President, Rev. Joel Billy, who is a strong man of love that he will do his best to speak with our governor and other necessary agents for my release.
The national CAN expressed sadness over the murder of Andimi.
In a statement, yesterday in Abuja, the Director, Legal and Public Affairs of CAN, Evangelist Kwamkur Samuel Vondip, said the church viewed the unabated kidnappings, extortions and killings of Christians and other innocent Nigerians as shameful to the government that each time boasts that it has conquered insurgency.
He questioned why the Buhari-led government has not overhauled the security architecture with a view to injecting new ideas into the security system since the agencies are not living up to the expectations of the government.
Vondip observed that the church is almost losing hope in the government’s ability to protect Nigerians, especially Christians who have become endangered species on its watch. He called on the international community, particularly the United States, U.K., Germany, and Israel, to come to the aid of Nigeria, especially, the church so that they might not be eliminated one by one.
More at: https://guardian.ng/news/boko-haram-rejects-n50m-ransom-kills-can-chairman/
Pray for the family of Rev. Lawan Andimi and all those who are sensing the loss of this man of God.
Pray that his martyrdom will not be in vain.
Pray that the perpetrators will be brought to justice.
Pray that the Nigerian Government will redouble its efforts to improve security for the Christian church and to rid the affected Northern regions of the terrorist threat.
Nigeria: Boko Haram’s own goal?
Could the faith statement of an executed Christian leader encourage Christians facing persecution in Nigeria? Boko Haram beheaded Rev Lawan Andimi, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). But could a faith message that militants recorded with him be an own goal for terrorists? CAN has urged Nigeria’s government and the international community to act decisively to help Christians under attack in Nigeria, calling for three days of prayer and fasting for effective action. The Church views the unabated kidnappings and killings as shameful for a government boasting that it has conquered insurgency. ‘Each time the government claims the defeat of the insurgency, more killings of our people are committed. We are almost losing hope in our government’s ability to protect Nigerians – especially Christians, who have become an endangered species under its watch.’
North Cameroon: rampages by militants
Adults were murdered, children were kidnapped, and people robbed in Boko Haram attacks on mainly-Christian villages in the far north of Cameroon. The army has difficulty combatting militants in an area dotted with small, isolated villages linked by poor roads where militants strike and then escape via main roads back to Nigeria. On 1 December gunmen attacked mourners at a funeral in Kotserehé, killing four and wounding three. The following night, they murdered three and wounded another when they swarmed into Zangola, stealing food and clothing; they similarly looted Yagoua. In Mbreche, militants kidnapped 21 young people aged between 12 and 21; next they attacked Tahert, stealing a motorbike and wounding a girl. Those abducted will be forced to become Boko Haram ‘soldiers’ and fight for the extremists. In November a Christian boy was hacked to death for resisting militants’ attempt to abduct him as a ‘soldier’.
Nigeria: Turkey alleged to be arming Boko Haram
Egyptian TV News Report Alleges Turkey Supplying Weapons to Nigeria's Boko Haram.
Raymond Ibrahim, a Shillman Fellow in Journalism at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, and an expert on the Middle East and Islam, appeared on Thursday's afternoon's edition of CBN's Newswatch to talk more about Turkey's alleged ties to Islamic terrorism. Newswatch is seen weekdays on the CBN News Channel. For a programming schedule, click here.
Turkey is clearly a terrorist state with a broad reach, according to an Egyptian television news program. Ten.tv reports Turkey is supplying weapons to Boko Haram in Nigeria. Ten.tv host Nasha't al-Deyhi reported on a leak confirming an intercepted phone call from a few years back – confirming the action.
He reported in part: "Today's leak confirms without a doubt that Erdogan, his state, his government, and his party are transferring weapons from Turkey to – this is a shock, to where you may ask – to Nigeria; and to whom? – to the Boko Haram organization."
Raymond Ibrahim is the Shillman Fellow in Journalism at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an expert on the Middle East and Islam. During an interview Thursday on CBN's Newswatch, Ibrahim said he's not surprised by the Ten.tv report.
"The tape was made in 2014 or 15 and it was reported widely in certain areas, in the US and the west not so much and not much came out of it," Ibrahim said. "The reason I think is that (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan didn't have his fingers so much in Islamist politics outside of his own nation."
"But now that we've seen Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the ISIS Islamic state caliph that was killed recently, and he was found just three miles from the Turkish border, which is, in fact, the last bastion of jihadi-so-called 'freedom fighters' attacking the Syrian government," he told CBN News.
"It has brought it up again, he (Erdogan) is supporting ISIS," Ibrahim noted. "Now we're remembering and that was I think the point of the Egyptian show, we're bringing back to see that there's some continuity here. He's involved with some of the worst Islamic terror groups. If you remember, Boko Haram, whose name loosely means 'western education is forbidden', (Haram) was basically doing what ISIS was doing and is notorious for – years before ISIS was doing it.
"One of the things international observers have been noticing, especially increasingly, is that their armaments, their weapons are very sophisticated," he continued. "It's even spilled into the Fulani tribesmen in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. For example, in Burkina Faso, also in western Africa the attacks on Christians have become horrific in just the last few months."
As CBN News reported, a senior State Department official said last week that Turkey is backing forces in Syria who have the same radical ideology as ISIS.
"The problem is that the people doing the fighting are these ill-disciplined Arab militias, some of whom we've worked within the past when we were arming the opposition, but many of whom are (a) ill-disciplined, and (b) relatively radical, and their ideology is essentially Islamic ideology," the official said.
A fragile government in northern Syria called the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAA) released a statement on Tuesday saying that Erdogan seeks to subjugate them through radical Islam.
"Erdogan plans to turn our free, democratic region back into turmoil under radical Islamic occupation," the government said.
Critics of Erdogan's invasion say he is trying to revive the Ottoman Empire and establish a new caliphate. "Their open intention is to restore the original caliphate which was disbanded in 1924," said Dalton Thomas of Frontier Alliance International.
Recently Turkey's defense minister posted a map to his social media that shows portions of Greece, Syria, and Iraq as part of a greater Turkey.
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar posted a message alongside the map: "We have no eyes on anyone's soil. We will only take what's ours."
The map reflects the 1920 Ottoman National Pact that includes lands Turkey believes it deserved at the end of World War I.
Pray: that Turkey stops arming Boko Haram and other radical Islamic groups.
Pray: for the divine protection of Christians in the most vulnerable regions of Nigeria.
Pray: that any subversive intentions by Turkey’s government will be brought into the light.
Pray: that Nigeria and neighbouring governments will successfully redouble their efforts to disarm Boko Haram, the Fulani Herdsmen and the other Islamic terrorist groups.
Cameroon: Boko Haram cut off women’s ears
Boko Haram terrorists abducted three Christian women from their homes in a night-time raid on a mainly Christian town in the far north of Cameroon. They dragged their victims to the outskirts of the town, where they sliced off one ear from each victim. They then released the women, threatening that they would return in the future. The injured women were taken to a clinic about 160 miles away, where they received medical treatment. Boko Haram, operating in the region surrounding Lake Chad, has stepped up attacks on Christian villages in the north. Some villages have been repeatedly targeted, and Christians taken away into captivity. Pray that the cruel extremists will be brought to justice. May the extremism that is now rife in West Africa diminish. Pray that love will conquer hate, and that peace will reign.
Nigeria: shocking story of martyrdom
ABUJA, NIGERIA – Chuck Holton of CBN visited a refugee camp for people who have been internally displaced from their villages in the north and to the west. 'There are about 2.5 million internally displaced people within Nigeria, and that makes this one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world right now. And the thing that all of these people have in common is that they are Christians,' said Chuck.
Much of Boko Haram's terror is directed at Christians. Enoch Yeohanna was in a village invaded by them. "They started with burning churches, killing the pastors, and killing the members. Shutting them down," he said.
“On 29 September 2014 was the day that they attacked my village. Around ten I had a call that they have killed my dad. They asked him to deny Christ and when he refused they cut off his right hand. Then he refused [again], they cut to the elbow. In which he refused, before they shot him in the forehead, the neck, and chest," Yeohanna went on.
Many of the 1,500 Christians living in this camp have similar stories.
The Nigerian military has mounted large offensives against Boko Haram in recent months, and even with heavy losses on both sides, there seems to be no end in sight. Despite the hardships, these displaced Christians are firm believers in the power of prayer.
"If there is peace, there is nothing that will stop us from going there," Enoch Yeohanna said.
"My faith has helped my prayer life and I believe the prayers of the saints around the world have helped us make it through these tough times,"
Enoch's neighbour, Aisha Walla said -"My hope is that God will bring all those displaced back to their homes so we can worship God together and live in peace."
Pray: for the thousands of families displaced in this disaster, largely Christian – that they will find strength to endure these times of hardship and that they will soon be able to return to their homes safely.
Pray: for those living with the traumas and shocking memories, for healing of their minds and peace.
Pray: that those aligned with Boko Haram will find Jesus, repent and turn from their wicked ways.
Nigeria: kidnapped Christians alive?
More than a month after a video which implied that kidnapped Christian teenager Leah Sharibu had been killed, a presidential spokesman, citing intelligence from security agencies, released a statement stating that the government is negotiating with terrorists for the release of Leah and other captives. He said that lines of communication remain open with Boko Haram kidnappers, now called the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), to secure their release. The government understands how difficult these times are for the family and friends of the kidnapped girls, and is pursuing many options to ensure their safe return. However, the administration does not encourage payment of ransom to secure the release of captives. For this reason, he said, the government has not rushed to yield to the demands of the terrorist group. However, many no longer believe that the government is genuinely working to free the captives.
Cameroon: Christian majority flee Boko Haram
Bishop Bruno Ateba of Maroua-Mokolo said that over 100,000 Christian Cameroonians have been made refugees within their own country as a result of a rise in attacks by Boko Haram. 70% of the population is Christian. The bishop said tourism has ceased and life has come to a standstill because of the terrorist crisis. Suicide bombings in Maroua, in the far north, killed over 30 people and injured hundreds. The recent suicide attacks were carried out by two young girls, forced by Boko Haram to conceal bombs under their burkas and detonate their weapons in public places. In an appeal to international governments, Bishop Bruno said, ‘Help us to achieve peace. The international community has all the resources to put an end to the terrorism of Boko Haram.’ In a letter to all the faithful of his diocese, Bishop Bruno called them to pray and be watchful.
More than 60 dead as Boko Haram extremists target funeral in Nigeria
The latest atrocity is believed to be in retaliation to an incident when villagers fought off a Boko Haram attack two weeks ago.
The attack on civilians is the deadliest in the region so far this year.
Eleven other people were wounded during the midday attack in Budu near Maiduguri on Saturday, according to Muhammad Bulama, council chairman of the Nganzai local government area.
Bunu Bukar, secretary of self-defence group Borno Hunters Association, said the extremists were on motorbikes and opened fire on villagers.
He added that his colleagues had recovered nearly two dozen bodies.
Mr Bulama said the atrocity was in retaliation to an incident when villagers fought off a Boko Haram attack in the area two weeks ago.
Last week Nigerians marked the 10th anniversary of the Boko Haram insurgency which has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and created one of the world's biggest humanitarian crises.
The extremists have carried out mass abductions of schoolgirls and deployed young women and men in suicide vests to attack markets, mosques and other highly populated areas.
Their aim is to impose strict Islamic rule in the region.
Boko Haram have broadened their attacks and carried out atrocities in neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
Reporting by Sky News
Pray: For the military and intelligence services to root out and bring these militants to justice.
Pray: For the victims and their families – for healing and comfort in their grief.
Pray: For an end to this ongoing campaign by Boko Haram.
Nigeria suicide blast kills 30 at video hall in Borno
At least 30 people have been killed in a triple suicide bombing outside a video hall in north-eastern Nigeria, emergency service officials say.
Another 40 were injured in the attack in Konduga village in Borno State, the officials said.
There are conflicting report about whether the blast occurred while people were watching football or a film.
Militant Islamist group Boko Haram is being blamed for the attack. There was no immediate comment from the group.
Formed in Borno State, the group has waged a brutal insurgency across the north-east for a decade.
Ali Hassan, leader of a self-defence group in Konduga, told AFP news agency that the owner of the hall had prevented one bomber from entering.
"There was a heated argument between the operator and the bomber who blew himself up," he said.
Two other attackers who were nearby then set off their devices.
The number of deaths was so high because emergency services arrived late to the site of the blast and were not adequately equipped to deal with such a large number of wounded people, Usman Kachalla, head of operations at the State Emergency Management Agency (Sema) told AFP.
Video halls are common across northern Nigeria. They are usually rudimentary buildings where people pay a small fee to watch football matches or films.
Boko Haram has targeted them on several occasions, saying they are unIslamic.
Konduga has been targeted before. In July 2018, eight people were killed after a suicide bomber detonated explosives in a mosque.
At least 27,000 lives have been lost and about two million people forced to flee their homes in the conflict with Boko Haram.
This latest attack comes at the end of a bloody weekend in northern Nigeria. There is rising concern of insecurity in other parts of the country.
On Friday night an armed gang killed at least 34 people in the north-western state of Zamfara, which has been at the centre of a wave of attacks by bandits since the beginning of the year.
The Boko Haram insurgency has been terrorising people in the north-east for the past decade, and has been the main area of focus for Nigeria's armed forces.
But the triple suicide bombings in Borno on Sunday reflect just how complex the security challenges are.
The government has said that Boko Haram and the rival Islamic State of West Africa Province(Iswap) group are on their last legs. But both the military and population of the north-east continue to suffer regular attacks.
Although Boko Haram has lost a lot of the territory it held in the north-east in the last four years, it is still attacking soft targets in mosques, markets and public gatherings.
Combine this with the ongoing banditry attacks in the north-west, and kidnappings across the country's highways, and the scale of the security challenge is daunting.
Analysis by Mayeni Jones | BBC
More at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-48660150
Pray: That the Boko Haram group is dis-armed and those responsible for these heinous attacks are brought to justice.
Pray: That the Nigerian government and the state government and military step up their negotiations and intervention to return the affected states to safety and stability.
Pray: for all those affected by these and other attacks on innocent people.